The present invention relates generally to a portable toy vehicle racing set and, in particular, to a battery-powered toy vehicle racing set in which the components are housed in a portable case which folds open for use.
Toy vehicle racing sets such as slot car racing sets and the like generally include a plurality of track sections which must be selectively coupled together to form the racing track. The track sections include conductive rails which are electrically coupled together when the track sections are coupled to provide a closed track surface. Generally, power is supplied from an electrical power source through a transformer which is coupled to a house wiring circuit through a conventional plug. The speed of the cars on the track is controlled by a hand controller which includes a rheostat which varies the voltage applied across the tracks. The toy cars include motors which are coupled to the wheels of the vehicle. Power is supplied from the wheels through contact shoes to the motor.
Such racing car sets come packaged in large boxes and a significant amount of time is required to properly set up the track before play can begin. Because of the amount of time required to set up such a track, it is often required to leave the track in set up condition to avoid the time consuming procedure of dismantling the track, and reassembly when use is desired. Components are often bent or broken during the assembly and disassembly procedure and the play value is reduced because of this cumbersome and time consuming set-up procedure. In addition, such sets are not considered to be portable because of the set up requirements.
It would be desirable to provide a portable toy car racing set which is formed as part of a carrying case in which the track sections are formed as part of the case. The present invention provides such a system.